Harem of Horror: Murder at the 'Sultan's Palace'

To the casual passer-by, the house on Dauphine Street offers no outward clue to the debauchery and carnage that took place within its walls more than a century ago, leaving the dark mystery of an unsolved massacre and slaughtered spirits that can find no rest.

It's an ordinary looking house as far as French Quarter houses go. Lovely wrought-iron lace on the balconies, flowers, a small courtyard. Similar to other elegant homes in the heart of the Quarter, on a quiet street only two blocks from the nightly bacchanalia on Bourbon Street.

From 1839-1873, the house at 716 Dauphine was owned by wealthy plantation owner Jean Baptiste Le Prete, who used the house for entertaining and socializing during the fall and winter. The rest of the year, he and his family occupied their large plantation home in Plaquemines Parish.

Sometime during the later years of Le Prete's ownership, he was approached by a wealthy young man from Turkey who was looking for a house to rent. He was renting the house, or so he said, for his older brother, a wealthy Turkish sultan, who would be joining him later. The young man needed a large house to accommodate a large party of men and women travelling with him.

Le Prete rented the house to the Turk who moved in with his entourage of beautiful young women and muscular men. Almost as soon as the last box and trunk was carried into the house, the character of the house underwent a dramatic change.

Heavy draperies were put on all the windows, allowing no light either in or out. Doors were always closed and locked. A padlock appeared on the front gate and men armed with scimitars stood guard around the clock. When the front door did open to let someone in or out, the sweet smell of incense wafted through the neighborhood and strange tinkling music could be heard.

Stories of mysterious goings-on began to circulate in the neighborhood. It was rumored that the young women travelling with the group were actually members of the Sultan's harem, stolen away to America by the young Turk. Orgies, complete with opium and sexual perversions of all sorts between all members of the house were said to be commonplace. Rumors also had it that the young Turk had hoarded boxes full of treasure he had stolen from his brother the Sultan.

If the story ended here, it would be a strange tale, even for New Orleans. But, what happened next went down in New Orleans history as one of the bloodiest and most horrible crimes ever committed in the city.

Early one morning, a neighbor walking past the house noticed the gate was unlocked. He was horrified at what he saw next - a stream of blood oozing under the front door, down the step and under the gate.

The police were quickly summoned and prepared to enter the house. As the front door, which was also unlocked, slowly swung open, the officers were faced with a scene of carnage such as they had never seen before. The smell of death and blood was so strong that several policemen could go no further.

The opulently decorated house now resembled a butcher shop. Body parts and organs were strewn up and down the grand staircase. The gorgeous wood floors were so slick with blood that is was hard to walk without falling. Although none of the neighbors had seen or heard anything, every person in the house had been chopped to pieces sometime during the night.

The mutilation was so complete that it was impossible to tell what parts went to what body - heads, arms, legs and other pieces of the occupants were so hacked and scattered that the victims were never identified . . . all but one, that is.

Just when the officers thought they had seen the worst, they ventured into the courtyard. Here the horror intensified. Looking around the garden, one of the officers spied what looked like a glove.

On closer inspection, however, he realized it was a human hand reaching from what appeared to be a freshly dug grave. As the officers unearthed the body, they discovered that it was the young Turk, the brother of the Sultan. He had been badly injured and then buried alive.

From the appearance of the body, the young man had a hellish last few minutes of life as he choked and gasped on the clay and soil of New Orleans. One hand was clawing desperately from the smothering earth of the grave when he breathed his last.

To this day, no one knows exactly who committed the heinous crimes. Did the young Turk steal the women and treasure from his wealthy brother, who then sought retribution? Or had pirates learned about the treasure and stolen into the city in the middle of the night to commit the massacre?

Stories persist of a pirate ship that docked for less than a day and left as quickly as it came. But, no one came forward to claim the pieces of the bodies and no one came in search of any of the occupants of the house. The truth likely will never be known.

But ever since that night, people have claimed to hear the tinkling of music late at night in the house. Others have detected the scent of incense coming from the house.

Residents of the house claimed to have seen a light-haired young man late at night, who disappeared as if by magic. Others have claimed to have seen a similar person sitting in one of the windows in the wee hours of the morning.

Is this the young Turk who will not rest until someone knows what happened? Or does he still search for his treasure? The ghost of the Sultan's Palace is the only one who can answer this question and so far, he has not spoken.